Psalm 78:11

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Psalms 78:9-11

EPHRAIM; A TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF INFIDELITY"The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law; And they forgat his doings, and his wondrous works that he had showed them.""Ephraim ... turned back in the day of battle" (Psalms 78:9). Dahood interpreted this to mean that, "Despite the Ephraimites having been selected as Yahweh's elite bowmen, the Ephraimites were later rejected for... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 78:1-72

Psalms 78This didactic psalm teaches present and future generations to learn from the past, and it stresses the grace of God. Didactic psalms offer wisdom to the reader. Some have called this a history psalm (cf. Psalms 105, 106, 114, 135, , 136). [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 230.] "This could be sub-titled, in view of Psalms 78:12; Psalms 78:68, From Zoan to Zion, for it reviews the turbulent adolescence of Israel from its time of slavery in Egypt to the reign of David. Like the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 78:9-11

2. A notable defection 78:9-11It is difficult to identify with certainty the occasion that these verses describe. Ephraim was not only the name of one tribe in Israel. It was also the name of the northern nation of Israel after the United Kingdom split in Rehoboam’s day. Assuming the writer was a contemporary of David, Ephraim the tribe appears to be in view here. In any case, the writer used this incident as a bad example that his hearers should avoid. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:1-72

This long historical Ps. may be compared with Psalms 105, 106, and with Deuteronomy 32. It traces the course of God’s relations with His people from the exodus down to the time of David, and dwells on the repeated manifestations of Israel’s rebelliousness, on the chastisements by which they were visited, and on the patient mercy of God which continued to bless them in spite of all their sins. The Ps. does not follow a strict chronological order, but records first Israel’s ingratitude for God’s... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Psalms 78:1-72

Psalms 78:7 In its original application this verse is simply a statement of God's purpose in giving to Israel the Law, and such a history of deliverance. So, then, the words may permissibly bear the application which I purpose to make of them in this sermon, re-echoing only the thoughts which the season has already, I suppose, more or less, suggested to most of us. Though every day be a New Year's Day, still the alteration in our dates and our calendars should set us all thinking of that... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

Psalms 78:1-72THIS psalm is closely related to Psalms 105:1-45; Psalms 106:1-48; Psalms 107:1-43. Like them, it treats the history of Israel, and especially the Exodus and wilderness wanderings, for purposes of edification, rebuke, and encouragement. The past is held up as a mirror to the present generation. It has been one long succession of miracles of mercy met by equally continuous ingratitude, which has ever been punished by national calamities. The psalm departs singularly from... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Psalms 78:1-72

Psalm 78-83 Psalms 78:0 A Historical Retrospect 1. The call to hear (Psalms 78:1-8 ) 2. Ephraim’s failure (Psalms 78:9-11 ) 3. His dealings in power and mercy (Psalms 78:12-55 ) 4. The continued provocation (Psalms 78:56-64 ) 5. His sovereign grace in choosing David (Psalms 78:65-72 ) This historical retrospect needs no further comment. It is God speaking to the hearts of His people through their own history from Egypt to David. How graciously He dealt with them all the way! The... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

Psalms 67:0 The first half dozen of these psalms form a group millennial and Messianic. The first is millennial. It is Israel who speaks; the psalm cannot be appreciated unless the word “us” in Psalms 67:1 is so applied. When God has mercy upon and blesses Israel in the latter days, His way and His saving health unto all nations (Psalms 67:2 ) will begin to be known. In other words, the present age is one of out-gathering, but the age to come (millennial) will be one of in-gathering. God is now... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Psalms 78:1-72

Day and Night Leading Psa 78:14 Did some man imagine this? I thank him. Life is the sweeter for having such men among us. What a man it was that thought of this condescension and love on the part of the miracle-working God described in this most musical psalm! It was worth being born to imagine this conception of God. It is so tender, so fatherlike, so comforting; it is charged to the full with inspiration of the best kind; it makes all things feel securer; it brings to the soul contributions... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Psalms 78:9-16

We need only refer to the history of Israel in the wilderness, to discover to what particular period of the church the prophet in these verses refers. Perhaps, as in several other parts of scripture, Ephraim, as one of the tribes of Israel, is put for the whole. Jeremiah 31:20 ; Hosea 11:8 . But when the Reader hath paid all due respect to this interesting passage, considered as an history, I beg to call his attention to a subject, suggested from it, of an infinitely higher nature. Did the Lord... read more